1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to systems for assisting a driver and more particularly to systems and methods for assisting a driver of a vehicle using video.
2. Related Art
In present systems for assisting the driver of a vehicle, video signals of the vehicle environment may be recorded and processed using image processing techniques to identify objects in the vehicle environment. The identified objects may then be analyzed to generate some indication to the driver of the vehicle that would provide the driver some assistance in navigating or driving the vehicle. For example, the object may be an obstacle in the vehicle's expected path and the system would indicate the presence of the obstacle to the driver using a visual and/or audible alarm.
Video recording and image processing techniques still have some drawbacks in their use in driver assist systems. One problem is that image processing of a video signal requires significant processing resources. Driver assist systems in automobiles are therefore designed with powerful processing equipment adding cost and complexity to the automobile. In addition, even when using powerful processing resources, the process of identifying objects using image processing still suffers from an insufficient accuracy. Accordingly, a need exists for driver assist techniques and systems that provide accurate object recognition and make efficient usage of processing resources.